LETTER: Let bridge be final big road widening

Steven Higashide, New York, N.Y.

Published
12:00 am EDT, Sunday, June 17, 2012

In 2010, we and several of Connecticut's largest business, planning, and environmental groups called on the state to give priority to repair of existing roads and bridges and support enhanced transportation options. That call is worth repeating now that the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, the state's most prominent road expansion project, is set to open.

The $1.25 billion bridge is by far the most expensive transportation project in the state. It consumes 45 percent of all road and bridge spending in Connecticut, according to our analysis of the state Department of Transportation's 2010-13 State Transportation Improvement Program, and was built at the expense of existing road and bridge infrastructure and transit systems.

This wasn't always the case.

As recently as 2002, almost three-quarters of the state's road and bridge spending was on repair and maintenance. Now, fewer than half goes to this purpose, while road and bridge conditions lag behind the nation's average.

The bridge should be the state's last major road widening. Refocusing limited resources to address the backlog of repairs, the growing demand for public transit and non-motor transportation needs must take greater priority.